With the advent of numerical controls for machine tools, there has been a continuing emphasis to design such machine tools so that the cutting operation and motions thereof may be properly programmed with relation to the other parts of the machine. U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,209 to Robert S. Jones and Walter Shultz discloses a turret lathe wherein both end working tools and peripheral turning tools are mounted in fixed spatial relationship to a slide, and the slide is positionable relative to a workpiece in accordance with the cutting program. The application of such numerical controls to turret type lathes has greatly facilitated the automation of drilling, turning, boring and threading capabilities. A principle disadvantage, however, of these prior art controlled turret lathe systems resides in the necessity for manual replacement of the cutting tools. Thus, time-consuming interruptions have been occasioned from time to time during the automatic tooling process of machine parts, etc. to enable costly manual replacement of cutting tools which have worn out or whose useful function has been completed.